It seems that residents in South China's Guangdong province can have fewer qualms about the safety of rice, since at least 94 percent of the rice recently tested met State safety standards.

So the scandal of rice contaminated with heavy metals should end without having much of an impact on consumers' confidence. At least we hope that this is the scenario that is unfolding.

Yet, one question remains unanswered: How did rice from Central China's Hunan province become contaminated with heavy metals such as cadmium?